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February 23, 2015

This is the largest blue crab I have ever seen, caught about 10 years ago in the Anclote River in Tarpon Springs, FL. I spent a lot of time on the Bay as a youngster and a young man, until I relocated to Florida.

An excerpt from my poem "Pretty Work" encapsulates my love for the Bay:

The shellpiles tell a story,of the manywho have experienced the glory,of harvesting the bountyof the Bay.But the glory is diminishedsome even think its finished.Can the decline be reversed,or will it continue to get worse?Can man and nature somehow combineto save the day?

Do you have a favorite Bay photo you'd like to submit to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Photo of the Week contest? Send your digital images to CBF's Senior Manager of Digital Media, Emmy Nicklin, at enicklin [at sign] cbf.org, along with a brief description of where and when you took the photo, and what the Chesapeake Bay means to you. We look forward to seeing your photos!

February 13, 2015

I must be the only person in the entire Chesapeake Bay area who doesn't know how to serve an oysteron the half shell. Butter? Lemon? Old Bay? I'm embarrassed to say I have no idea. But it's time I learn. My husband loves them, and I'm planning to buy a dozen for Valentine's Day.

In this, at least, I am not alone. Oyster sales spike on Valentine's Day alongside chocolate and bubbly. Seafood shops are stocking up, and restaurants are adding the epicurean indulgence to their Saturday night lover's menus.

Kevin McClaren who runsMarinetics, Inc., home of the famous Choptank Sweets oysters, has been hustling since last week to fill all the orders that have come in. He likens the work to a well-coordinated dance. "It's like a ballet," he says, "Taking them out, washing them off, getting them on ice, packing them up. Over and over. All day." A manly ballet, he adds.

Kevin says his business more than doubled this week.Whole Foodsalone ordered 6,000. Most of his sales are to local and regional restaurants that will be serving them up roasted, fried, dusted with chocolate, and of course, raw on the half shell.

Long considered an aphrodisiac, the humble oyster was said to have given the 18th Century Venetian playboy, Giacomo Casanova, his swagger.In 2005, Italian researchers claimed they had the proof to turn the myth into a reality. Their work showed that Mediterranean musselscontained two amino acids associated with amorous behavior in animals. In the end, however, mussels are not oysters, and their study subjects were not human. More recently, it's been said that a high concentration of zinc in oysters could induce a romantic response, but one would have to gobble them down in gluttonous quantities more likely to induce vomiting than romance.

Myth or not, oysters remain high on the list of essentials for gastronomic courtship. Behind the seafood counter at Whole Foods in Annapolis, Lamont Jackson expects to shuck nearly 600 of the stony Bay jewels on Saturday. Normally oyster sales hover at around 50 per day. I asked him why he thought so many people bought oysters on Valentine's Day, and his answer was probably the best I'd heard so far: "I think they add something fun to the table."

That's what I'm hoping for when I serve them up tomorrow tonight. After all, it has been scientifically proven that fun is the best recipe for a long, happy marriage.

December 23, 2014

2.5 million oysters were planted on Cooks Point Sanctuary Reef near Tilghman Island in 2009. The recent appropriations bill secured funding for critical projects such as oyster restoration. Photo by Erika Nortemann.

November 07, 2014

Recent scientific studies show that sediment backed up behind the Conowingo Dam is not as big a threat as previously thought. During a big storm, 80 percent of the sediment that comes through the dam is from upriver, while 20 percent is the mud scoured from the area behind the dam, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. What that means is the bigger threat to the Chesapeake Bay remains what it always has been: pollution that enters the Susquehanna River and all other tributaries from farms, cities and suburbs.

"The increased loads have a relatively modest effect on dissolved oxygen in deeper waters near Kent Island, with little or no effects on water quality over vast portions of the estuary, including the larger tributary subestuaries, such as the Choptank and Patuxent Rivers. Impaired conditions in the tributaries, including not only water quality but also harmful algal blooms and fish kills, are much more determined by reductions of nutrient pollution loads within their watersheds."

It's important to keep our eye on the biggest problem: the source of pollution. We need to address the sediment buildup at the dam, but not as a substitute for the hard work in our own backyards to reduce the overload of nutrients and sediments that foul the bay and threaten crabs and other marine life.

The state General Assembly and this state's next governor, therefore, should be pushed to do just that. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation recently issued a list of critical actions state leaders must take in the next four years to finish the job of cleaning the Chesapeake Bay. Those actions include reducing the amount of pollution from manure that reaches creeks and rivers, tightening enforcement efforts of environmental laws and stopping raids to environmental funds. The foundation is urging its members and the public to consider gubernatorial and legislative candidates' positions on these issues when voting.

The university also should be aware that in 2010 the Environmental Protection Agency put the six states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and Washington on what the agency called a "pollution diet." The jurisdictions all agreed to abide by this diet and to design and implement plans to do so. The foundation calls this initiative the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint. It is a national model for restoring a multistate water system. It holds all jurisdictions accountable for progress. It will make the bay swimmable and fishable once again. The foundation was a leader in the initiative, suing the EPA to force the "diet" and subsequently pushing and helping jurisdictions to meet their pollution limits.

Meeting their responsibilities under the blueprint should remain the focus of leaders in this state and other jurisdictions. Pennsylvania leaders must do their share to reduce pollution entering the Susquehanna and ultimately reaching the Conowingo Dam. Other states and local jurisdictions must do their part to reduce pollution entering their local waters. This comprehensive approach offers the best hope not only for crabs, oysters and other marine life, but also for our children and grandchildren. They shouldn't have to swim or frolic in polluted water.

October 27, 2014

Recently, my husband and I took our baby daughter down to our neighborhood dock to enjoy the glorious late summer weather and to try our hand at a little crabbing (catch and release!). These two guys held fast to the net even as we tried to release them, which made me think of the above title.

As a Maryland native, the ecology and long-term health of the Bay has always been a topic of great interest to me.Blue crabs are an integral part of the Bay, for ecological, cultural, and economic reasons. I applaudCBF's ongoing efforts to help stabilize the blue crab's population through education and advocacy.

I hope some day my daughter will be able to share these same types of moments with her children!

Do you have a favorite Bay photo you'd like to submit to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Photo of the Week contest? Send your digital images to CBF's Senior Manager of Digital Media, Emmy Nicklin, at enicklin [at sign] cbf.org, along with a brief description of where and when you took the photo, and what the Chesapeake Bay means to you. We look forward to seeing your photos!

October 14, 2014

We all count on clean water . . . But, with roughly 19,000 miles of polluted streams and rivers in our Commonwealth, too many of our waters are considered polluted. We all pay the price—lost jobs, human health risks, taxes, and fees to purify drinking water. And right now the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Gov. Corbett have a choice about protecting Pennsylvania's rivers and streams.

One of the most cost-efficient and well-established practices to clean up waterways and to keep them clean is to plant trees along stream banks—what some call forested buffers.

These buffers soak up water, reducing runoffand keeping any pollutants it carries from draining into streams. Their roots hold onto soil, keeping it from washing into and clouding the water. Their canopies lower water temperatures, improving wildlife habitat for fish like the brook trout, which is crucial in many local economies. And their green leaves convert carbon dioxide to oxygen, improving air quality and lowering our health risks from, for example, asthma. Trees are one of nature's best methods to stop pollution and maintain clean rivers and streams.

Pennsylvania has a Blueprint for clean water and as part of that Blueprint set a goal of planting 74,000 acres of forested buffers by 2013. Recently, our state reported that we have achieved only 17 percent of that goal. That leaves us a very long way to go before we realize the benefits of forested stream banks to our rivers and streams.

Pennsylvanian's own Thomas Hylton, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of the book "Save Our Land, Save Our Towns," was quoted in that article saying, "How much is something costing you, and how much benefit are you getting back? [CBF's] analysis indicates it's way less expensive to pay attention to Mother Nature and protect the environment, economically, than it is to let it go."

We need to protect our clean streams, as well as restore our polluted ones. It makes sense environmentally as well as, economically. We call on the General Assembly and Gov. Corbett to prevent this bad bill for Pennsylvanians from becoming law. Our waters will be cleaner and our legacy brighter if they do.

October 03, 2014

I fish in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries several days a week year round. Much of my fishing is done from a kayak, which allows me to get into very shallow water and to sneak up on fish. I see compelling differences in catch success depending on the water quality and clarity of the water bodies where I fish. Here is an example.

This morning I had planned to fish from my small center console near the Bay Bridge. The wind built up overnight and cancelled that plan. My alternate plan was to find some sheltered coves off of the tidal Severn River where I could fish from my kayak. I fished in three separate coves that had very calm conditions.

In the first cove, I had about the best visibility I can remember for September in this area (~4 ft). In less than 45 minutes, I hooked three chain pickerel, which are not common catches in the tidal Severn until winter months. The pickerel were healthy specimens from three separate age classes, suggesting that this local population was reproducing. The first was a young pickerel of ~6-7". The second was about 17-18". The third was a strong fish of 21-22" that pulled the kayak around for a minute or so before running out of steam. All three pickerel were quickly returned to the water.

In the second cove, the water clarity was good, but not as spectacular as in the first cove. I was able to observe a pickerel follow my lure up to the boat and remain a few inches behind the lure for more than 5 seconds trying to figure out whether to bite or not.

In the third cove, the water clarity was somewhat muddy. The fish were not biting well there either.

I wish all the tributaries in the Severn were as clear as I found in the first cove. Imagine how good the fishing would be if that were the case.

September 18, 2014

The number of adult rockfish (striped bass) has been declining for 10 years and is about to drop below the level that means it is officially "overfished." This is the primary finding of the latest scientific analysis of the striped bass "stock," which includes fish spawned in the Hudson and Delaware Rivers as well as the Chesapeake. In fact, Chesapeake-born rockfish migrate all the way to Maine and make up about 75 percent of the total catch.

Recreational and commercial fishermen pursue striped bass from Maine to North Carolina, making it one of the most sought-after fish along the coast. However catches have been declining steadily in recent years. These states are currently working together under the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) to craft a response to the situation that will maintain the stock at a level that will support these valuable fisheries.

But the Bay's rockfish population is far from collapsing. A few things to keep in mind:

1. First, while the amount of spawning-age female rockfish (the "spawning stock") is dropping into the overfished range, this does not mean we face reproductive failure. The spawning stock threshold is set conservatively at the level it was in 1995 when the stock was declared recovered from the severe decline of the 1970s and 80s. Scientists knew that this was a level from which the stock could recover, because it did so very well. (In fact, we set a record for reproduction in 1993, and then we shattered that record in 1996.) A favorable spawning pattern continued in the Bay through 2003 and then dropped off until 2011. This period of lower reproduction is the main reason for the stock decline.

2. Second, in 2011 Chesapeake rockfish had an excellent spawn producing the fourth highest number of juveniles on record. This very strong "year class" will mature in the next few years and join the spawning stock, helping turn the trajectory back upward.

How much and how soon we need to conserve striped bass in the short term to boost this recovery is the question currently before the ASMFC. The Commission is deliberating the nature of the fishing restrictions that will be required under an updated fishery management plan for striped bass.

Perhaps more critical for Chesapeake Bay is the quality of the habitat the Bay provides for rockfish during their first four to six years when they are year-round residents in the Bay before joining the annual coastal migration. Exposure to low dissolved oxygen, high summer water temperatures, diminished grass beds and oyster reefs, and lack of sufficient food, especially their favorite forage fish, Atlantic menhaden, has taken a toll on these fish. In fact, scientists have documented widespread occurrence of a serious disease called mycobacteriosisamong resident stripers that likely results from poor water quality and nutrition. And fishery managers now assume a higher mortality rate for those fish in their population modeling—in effect we are having to adjust to a degraded Bay.

Therefore, implementing the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint, restoring habitat, and conserving forage fish are essential to maintaining healthy populations of rockfish and all the other Bay fish and shellfish we value.

August 04, 2014

It's clearly been a poor year for Chesapeake Bay blue crab harvests. Average catches just three years ago were as much as twice as what they are now.

That is where Angus Phillips ["It's now or never for blue crabs," Sunday Opinion, July 27] and I agree. Where we disagree is what to do about it. Phillips called for a moratorium on crabbing. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) does not. Like many, we believe in managing fisheries through science, not quick-fix schemes. As my eighth-grade history teacher used to say, "Beware of simple answers to complex problems."

While a moratorium may be tempting in its simplicity, the CBF and most scientists believe that limits on the harvesting of female crabs are biologically appropriate for such a resilient species (which is far different from the striped bass, for which the CBF was a moratorium advocate). This approach will also have the added benefit of maintaining jobs and avoiding the economic devastation to communities like Smith and Tangier islands.

We believe that only a comprehensive crab management plan that addresses pollution, habitat and harvest will provide for a long-term sustainable fishery.

While there is plenty of reason for concern, there is also a bright note this crabbing season: Early results from Maryland and Virginia show an encouraging number of young crabs.

Phillips rhetorically asked whether the CBF is aware of the situation. Of course we are. The CBF's scientists have been in communication with the Maryland, Potomac and Virginia regulatory agencies responsible for blue crab management. Our senior fisheries scientist also is a member of the Sustainable Fisheries Goal Implementation Team, which oversees blue crab management baywide.

Phillips said he could not find one word about the issue on our Web site. I invite him to look again. A search of our Web site turned up more than 1,400 mentions of crabs — their importance, value and plight. In May, we published "Blue News," a blog posted soon after the annual crab survey results raised concerns about the population. It can be found at www.cbf.org/bluenews.

Finally, Phillips stated that the CBF was raising money for a new wing at our Annapolis Environmental Center, the world's first LEED platinum building. We are not. He also called it a palace. That is an odd description for a building that dramatically cuts energy and water use, reduces human pollution through zero-discharge composting toilets and is built inside and out with sustainable materials.

June 20, 2014

Simply put, the single most important variable in my mind to having a healthy fishery not only in my home waters of the Choptank River, but the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed, is having clean water. I have been fishing and living on the Chesapeake since I was a little boy. Over the years I have seen how grasses have decreased as a result of polluted water and other various pollutants.

It wasn't too long ago I was able to fish the shallows of the Choptank River and consistently catch white perch, striped bass, and other finned animals. While I am still able to catch some fish, the Choptank is now the second most polluted river in Maryland and as a result, the fishing does not even compare to when I was a kid. While making sure we have sustainable fishing regulations for both commercial and recreational anglers is important, in my mind the single most important variable neccesary for a healthy ecosystem is clean, unpolluted water.